The weather will be hot and dry on Friday (June 19) and over the weekend. It will bring a high heat load to people and there will be a very high risk of fires in nature. The Slovak Hydrometeorological Institute (SHMÚ) informed about this on its website.
“Due to the pressure level over our territory, maximum air temperatures of up to 35 degrees Celsius are expected from Friday to Sunday (June 21),” meteorologists zoomed in. The forecast of the universal thermal-climatic index (UTCI) according to SHMÚ shows a gradually increasing heat stress throughout Slovakia. Moderate heat stress is expected in most of Slovakia, but meteorologists expect strong heat stress in western Slovakia, especially during the weekend.
“The growing heat load is also confirmed by the heat index (HI), which takes into account only temperature and relative humidity in the calculation. The HI index provides a strong warning against heat load for western Slovakia. Under such conditions, it is uncomfortably hot, especially in direct sunlight.” Heat stroke, muscle cramps or overheating of the body may occur,” explained the experts.
As a result of the passage of the disintegrating cold front during Sunday, it will also be humid during the weekend. Slovaks will feel a slight suffocation throughout the entire weekend, while strong suffocation will occur locally in several parts of the country on Saturday (June 20). On Sunday, it will already be noticeable in most of western Slovakia.
SHMÚ also assumes a high risk of fire occurrence and spread. Finer natural combustible material, such as dry grass, leaves and twigs, will be extremely dry, and the moisture content of this material will reach less than six percent of its mass in the whole of western Slovakia. “This represents a very high risk of fires,” warned the institute.
In the rest of Slovakia, meteorologists expect fuel moisture values at the level of six to ten percent, in the north of the country up to 15 percent. These conditions represent a high risk of fires. The risk of fire spreading will gradually increase, they claim.
The fire danger index – fire spread (FWI) predicts a very high risk of fire spreading in the Danube Plain, but also locally in Záhorí, especially during Saturday. In the remaining parts of the southern half of Slovakia, a moderate to high risk of fire spread is expected during Friday and the weekend, added the hydrometeorological institute.
